Paven

Pave Benedikt skal feire messen på latin i England i september

Katolsk, Liturgi, Paven /

Fra the Tablet hører vi at pavemessene i England og Skottland i stor grad skal feires på latin, dvs. den eukaristiske bønn først og fremst – og at dette skjer etter påtrykk fra Vatikanet:

Significant parts of Masses celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to Britain in September will be said in Latin. The Eucharistic prayer of the Mass will be said or sung in Latin by the Pope at the liturgies at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, and at the beatification of Cardinal Newman in Cofton Park, Birmingham. Congregations will respond to the dialogue preface in Latin and the consecration will be said in Latin. It is believed the Mass at Westminster Cathedral will follow a similar pattern. Mgr Paul Conroy, General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference in Scotland and part of the planning team for the liturgy, said that the decision was a requirement of the Vatican. “This helps to show the universality of the liturgy and helps Catholics from various different countries, who may be listening on the radio or watching on television, to follow the Mass,” he said.

Siste onsdagsaudiens på Petersplassen i går

Katolsk, Paven /

I går var det siste onsdagsaudiens på Petersplassen (rettere sagt; i Paul VIs auditorium i Vatikanet) før pave Benedikts sommeropphold på Castel Gandolfo.

Fra RomeReports:

Benedict XVI dedicated his general audience to the Franciscan theologian Blessed John Duns Scotus. Much of his work attempts to reconcile classical philosophy with medieval Christianity. The pope pointed to three ideas for which Duns Scotus is best known: That the Incarnation was part of God’s original plan of creation; that Mary’s preservation from original sin was granted in view of Jesus’ redemptive passion and death; and for his ideas on human freedom and its relationship with will and intellect.

Har pavens brev ‘Summorum Pontificum’ vært en suksess?

Liturgi, Paven, TLM /

The Catholic Herald stiller dette spørsmålet tre år etter at dokumentet ble offentliggjort – les det her. De skriver innledningsvis at det er gått tre år, og bare i begrenset grad blir det nå feiret flere tradisjonelle latinske messer enn før – mens noen i 2007 hadde regnet med en rask og ktaftig økning. Kanskje må vi rett og slett være tålmodige, sier de til slutt, før de spør leserne om deres mening. Og mange lesere svarer, bl.l. slik:

Three years in not a very long time–especially not in terms of the Church–and I would argue that there has been a sea-change (in the United Kingdom at least) since His Holiness published the Motu Proprio: Summorum Pontificum. Even if the Faithful are still not able to attend an EF Mass on a Sunday at a normal time, or the numbers haven’t turned up as expected, or the Bishops are still reluctant in some places, the fact that the Mass is available and slowly becoming part of the norm, is pretty tremendous. I also believe–and the evidence is unfortunately only anectdotal–that Summorum Pontificum has vastly improved the Novus Ordo. …

I would say that SP has been a success. It trumped the reluctance of Bishops to allow the usus antiquior and has encouraged many priests to learn how to say it. I have met dozens of priests who have only begun to say the old Mass since SP and I am sure that there are many more in the pipeline. In terms of negotiations with the SSPX, it has removed an important stumbling block.

I agree too that it has helped priests to say the new Mass more reverently and to understand some elements of that form of the Mass better, with more awareness of our liturgical tradition. For the people of God, it has brought a much needed sense of the sacred, and an opportunity to participate at Mass with greater freedom of choice in the manner of participation. In terms of the spiritual life of the Church, it has been a much needed element of Pope Benedict’s reforms.

… The more I read about Pope Benedict the more I am convinced that he is not seeking to make an instant, revolutionary impact on the Church, but to lay foundations that will be built on by his successors for generations to come. Like Rome itself, he thinks in centuries. That’s the best way to understand Summorum Pontificum. Three years on the Motu Proprio has not revolutionised worship around the world. But Benedict XVI never suggested it would. But in a century’s time worship around the world will be deeply marked by his reforms.

Hvordan reagerte du på det som skjedde for tre år siden?

Paven, TLM /

For tre år siden i dag (kl 12.00) ble pave Benediks brev motu proprio (på eget initiativ), der han ‘frigjorde’ den tradisjonelle latinske messen, offentliggjort. Selv hadde jeg da i flere måneder allerede tenkt mye på dokumentet som det ryktes skulle komme, og var svært ivrig etter å få høre hva det sa, og til å lære meg denne gamle messen (som jeg aldri hadde sett før, ikke en gang på video). Jeg kan ikke riktig forklare hvorfor jeg var så ivrig; det må ha vært noe som stemte med min liturgiske utvikling mer generelt.

Father Z. kjente den gamle messen godt fra før 2007, og han skriver i dag dette om hva han gjrde for tre år siden:
Three years ago … I got up at Oh-dark-hundred to post the text of Benedict XVI’s long-expected Motu Proprio (I had an advance copy under embargo until noon Rome time). The click of the ENTER button was a blessed sound. Then I stuck the Veuve into the fridge for later.

Summorum Pontificum will prove to one of the most important events of Pope Benedict’s pontificate. In this document he gave a great gift to the Church especially because it is such a great gift to priests. Once priests learn the older form of Holy Mass – and this is especially true for younger priests – they never say any Mass in the same way again. The older form teaches them something new about themselves as priests and about what and who they are at the altar. In turn, this has a ripple effect on people around them.

Summorum Pontificum is part of Pope Benedict’s «Marshall Plan» to revitalize our Catholic identity. Let’s use this entry for your reflections on Summorum Pontificum three years later. The document went into force on 14 September 2007, but it was released today: 07-07-07.

Post here your reflections and observations. Let’s not use this thread for discussion. Just post your own points without engaging others directly. And pray for Pope Benedict!

Hvordan opplevde dere lesere dagen for tre år siden, og hvordan har dere opplevd den tradisjonelle latinske messen siden den tid?

Tre år siden pave Benedikts SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM ble offentliggjort

Paven, TLM /

Jeg skrev to innlegg om dette for tre år siden – DETTE:

Lørdag kl 12 er pavens motu proprio om frigjøringen av den tradisjonelle latinske messen offentlig

Dette melder det tyske kath.net, og også andre nyhetstjenester. Faktisk har noen (få) nettsteder/blogger allerede offentliggjort store deler av innholdet i pavens brev, og bl.a. avkreftet at det skal være en prøveordning for bare tre år, som noen hadde hørt. Riktignok står det at man vil ta imot biskopenes synspunkter etter tre år, og om nødvendig gjøre noen justeringer. Slik åpner vissnok pavens motu prorio, men vi må vente til i morgen med å lese innholdet:

LITTERAE APOSTOLICAE MOTU PROPRIO DATAE

BENEDICTUS XVI

SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM cura ad hoc tempus usque semper fuit … …

Og DETTE innlegget:

Pavens motu proprio er nå offentliggjort – trer i kraft fra 14/9

«Dette dokumentet åpner for at prester/biskoper kan bruke de gamle liturgiske forskriftene for alle sakramenter.

Remember: the MP applies to all the sacraments as they were before the Council, not just Holy Mass. It concerns the liturgy, not just Holy Mass. Thus clerics (bishops, priests, deacons), who are obliged to recite the Liturgy of the Hours can use the older Breviarium Romanum as it was in 1962. Benedict is establishing the older form of liturgy, as in was in 1962, as an extraordinary form (forma extraordinaria). The Novus Ordo of the Roman Missal and all other liturgical books remain the ordinary way of celebrating the liturgy.

“Extraordinary”, here, does NOT mean “rare” or “unusual” or “special”. It simply means “out of the common order”. … It cannot be argued legitimately from the word “extraordinary” that use of the older forms must necessarily be “rare”. It can be quite regular, depending on the circumstances, while in the larger scheme of things the Novus Ordo remains now the usual way things are done.

LES MER om dette dokumentet her – F. Z skriver svært grundig om dokumentet, og har oversatt det meste til engelsk.

30. juni 1960 skrev pave Johannes XXIII et apostolisk brev for å oppfordre katolikker til å minnes Jesu dyrebare blod

Liturgi, Paven /

Det er 50 år siden dette brevet kom ut, og jeg har jobbet litt med det de siste dagene. (Dessverre forsvant messen paven viser til her i 1970, og litaniet til Jesu dyrebare blod er vel heller ikke brukt.) Slik skriver han først om ulike forhetsøvelser som magisteriet alltid på oppmuntre de troende til å legge vekt på:

Now among the cares of our pastoral office, venerable brethren, we are convinced that, second only to vigilance over sound doctrine, preference belongs to the proper surveillance and development of piety, in both its liturgical and private expressions. With that in mind, we judge it most timely to call our beloved children’s attention to the unbreakable bond which must exist between the devotions to the Most Holy Name and Most Sacred Heart of Jesus — already so widespread among Christians — and devotion to the incarnate Word’s Most Precious Blood, «shed for many, to the remission of sins.»

It is supremely important that the Church’s liturgy fully conform to Catholic belief («the law for prayer is the law for faith»), and that only those devotional forms be sanctioned which well up from the unsullied springs of true faith. But the same logic calls for complete accord among different devotions. Those deemed more basic and more conducive to holiness must not be at odds with or cut off from one another. And the more individualistic and secondary ones must give way in popularity and practice to those devotions which more effectively actuate the fullness of salvation wrought by the «one mediator between God and men, Jesus Christ, who is a man, like them, and gave himself as a ransom for them all.»

Han skriver så om hvordan markeringen av Jesu dyrebare blod har utviklet seg:
… the devotion to the Most Precious Blood, which owes its marvellous diffusion to the 19th-century Ro man priest, St. Gaspar del Bufalo, has rightly merited the approval and backing of this Apostolic See. We may recall that by order of Benedict XIV the Mass and Office in honour of the divine Saviour’s adorable Blood were composed. And to fulfill a vow made at Gaeta Pius IX extended the feast to the whole Church. Finally, as a commemoration of the nineteenth centenary of our redemption, Pius XI of happy memory raised this feast to the rank of first-class double, so that the greater liturgical splendour would highlight the devotion and bring to men more abundant fruits of the re deeming Blood.

Following our predecessors’ example we have taken further steps to promote the devotion to the Precious Blood of the unblemished Lamb, Jesus Christ. We have approved the Litany of the Precious Blood drawn up by the Sacred Congregation of Rites and through special indulgences have encouraged its public and private recitation throughout the Catholic world.

Hele dette apostolisk brevet kan leses her.

Pave Benedikts tale 29. juni – festen for Peter og Paulus

Katolsk, Paven /

Pave Benedikt tok i sin tale under messen i Peterskirken tirsdag morgen opp bl.a. to sentrale temaer; at den største faren for , og angrepet mot, Kirken kommer innenfra (ikke utenfra), og at fellesskapet alle katolikker (og spesielt biskopene) har med paven gir dem frihet, den binder dem ikke på noen måte:

… … despite the suffering they cause, are not the greatest danger for the Church. In fact it suffers greatest damage from what pollutes the Christian faith and life of its members and its communities, eroding the integrity of the Mystical Body, weakening its ability to prophesy and witness, tarnishing the beauty of its face. This reality is already attested in the Pauline Epistle. The First Epistle to the Corinthians, for example, responds to some problems of divisions, inconsistencies, of infidelity to the Gospel which seriously threaten the Church. But the Second Letter to Timothy – of which we heard an excerpt – speaks about the dangers of the «last days», identifying them with negative attitudes that belong to the world and can infect the Christian community: selfishness, vanity, pride, love of money, etc. (cf. 3.1 to 5). The Apostle’s conclusion is reassuring: men who do wrong – he writes – «will not make further progress, for their foolishness will be plain to all» (3.9). …

Communion with Peter and his successors, in fact, is the guarantee of freedom for the Church’s Pastors and the Communities entrusted to them. It is highlighted on both levels in the aforementioned reflections. Historically, union with the Apostolic See, ensures the particular Churches and Episcopal Conferences freedom with respect to local, national or supranational powers, that can sometimes hinder the mission of the ecclesial Church. Furthermore, and most essentially, the Petrine ministry is a guarantee of freedom in the sense of full adherence to truth and authentic tradition, so that the People of God may be preserved from mistakes concerning faith and morals.

Les mer om dette hos Father Z.

Pave Benedikt talte i dag til 15 000 prester (og mange andre) på Petersplassen

Katolsk, Paven /

Slik skriver John Allen om dagens messe på Petersplassen, messen som avsluttet ‘presteåret’:

… As he has on numerous occasions in the past, the pope apologized both to God and to the victims of abuse, and pledged to prevent such abuse in the future. “We insistently beg forgiveness from God and from the persons involved, while promising to do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again,” the pope said.

“In admitting men to priestly ministry and in their formation, we will do everything we can to weigh the authenticity of their vocation and make every effort to accompany priests along their journey, so that the Lord will protect them and watch over them in troubled situations and amid life’s dangers,” he said.

Had the “Year for Priests” been merely a celebration of the human performance of priests, Benedict said, it would have been ruined by the revelations of the sexual abuse crisis. Instead, he said, the crisis should make the church embrace its faith in God with new “courage and humility.”

Later, Benedict XVI invoked the image of the shepherd’s rod, saying that using the rod to correct those who go astray can be a “service of love.” The use of the rod, the pope said, clearly applies to taking a firmer hand on the sexual abuse crisis. “Today we can see that it has nothing to do with love when conduct unworthy of the priestly life is tolerated,” he said.

On other matters, Benedict XVI rejected a “functionalist” understanding of the priesthood, treating it as comparable to other jobs or professional roles. Instead, the pope insisted, the priesthood is not an office but a sacrament. Ultimately, he said, the priesthood expresses the “audacity of God,” who considers flawed men capable of “acting and being present in his stead.” … …

In addition to being firm on sexual abuse, the pope also called for greater vigilance about deviations from the faith. It has nothing to do with love, Benedict XVI said, “if heresy is allowed to spread and the faith twisted and chipped away, as if it were something that we ourselves had invented.” That remark likewise drew applause, the only other time the crowd this morning interrupted the pope’s homily to affirm a particular line.

Pave Benedikt XVI topper laget i Irland for å komme til bunns i sexovergrepene – skriver Vårt Land

Generelt, Katolsk, Paven /

Oftest kjenner jeg de katolske nyhetene før de trykkes i norske aviser, men denne gang slo Vårt Land meg! Når jeg nå leter på nettet, finner jeg dette omtalt bl.a. her og her. Men slik skriver altså VL (i papirutgaven):

Pave Benedikt XVI topper laget, skriver kirkehistorie og vil til bunns i den irske overgrepsskandalen. Til å endevende hele overgrepsføljetongen på den grønne øya har han satt noen av sine fremste og mest troverdige kardinaler. Noen lignende Undersøkelser av kritikkverdige forhold i kirken har ingen pave før ham satt i verk.

Sean Patrick O’Malley er erkebiskop av Boston, bispedømmet hvor hele overgrepsmarerittet først ble rullet opp. Han ble innsatt som pavens ryddegutt etter avsløringer i Boston Globe om hvordan forgjengeren Bernard Law hadde sett mellom fingrene med graverende overgrepssaker. Kardinal O’Malley skal stå for granskningen av Dublin erkebispedømme.

Timothy Dolan er erkebiskop av New York og har fått i oppdrag å etterforske de irske presteseminarene. Kardinalen skal også se nærmere på hele spekteret av forhold som har med rekruttering og utdanning av prester å gjøre. …

Mandag ble det kjent at Vatikanet har utnevnt en kommisjon på ni medlemmer som skal lede etterforskningen. Arbeidet starter i fire erkebispedømmer og vil etter hvert omfatte hele kirken i landet. Etterforskerne skal også se på hvordan dagens regelverk fungerer med tanke på å forhindre nye overgrep.

Selv kirkekritiske kommentatorer er imponert over tyngden i pavens konunisjon og mandatet til gruppen av kirkelige granskere. Patsy McGarry, religionsmedarbeider i Irish Times, minner om at noen lignende aldri har skjedd i Den katolske kirke.

Det er rettferdig å si at pavens beslutning om å sende ni slike tungvektere til å etterforske den irske kirke er en sterk indikasjon på alvoret i hans hensikter når det gjelder å sette den kirkelige misbruket av barn på dagsorden. …

En artikkel om pave Benedikt – ved femårsjubileet

Paven /

Pave Benedikt er rett mann, på rett sted, til rett tid, skrev Martin Mosebach i en artikkel på tysk (her oversatt til engelsk) for ca en måned siden, i forb med pavens femårsjubileum:


Pope Benedict XVI has described the hours before the election that raised him to the throne of Peter with these words: “I saw the guillotine approaching.” Nobody knew better than he what would await the new Pope. Nobody but he had a more precise assessment of the four decades that had passed since the end of the Vatican II.

This council holds an exceptional position among the councils of Church history. In the past a council decided a theological dispute which had built up and introduced a phase of consolidation. Vatican II, however, which in its constitutions had largely confirmed the traditional teaching of the Church, initiated a period of theological controversy, of uncertainty, loss of substance and manifest rupture in Tradition.

It wanted to introduce an “opening to the world” but, after forty years, one has to admit that the Church is able to make clear less than ever before her most essential concerns. She has lost the power to advocate her own mission despite transforming herself into the secular domain with the greatest assiduity. Theological chaos had as a consequence that in many countries religious instruction worthy of the name no longer existed. In Germany, Catholic Christianity became an unknown religion also among, of all people, Catholics. Many spoke of a revolution in the Church. Her internal and external appearance had changed so radically that one could hardly speak any more of “development” and “evolution,” those favorite concepts of ecclesiology.

These negative results, however, were hardly able to discourage Benedict XVI. … …

Les gjerne hele stykket – se lenke over.

Spontan støtteaksjon for pave Benedikt på Petersplassen

Paven /

I går møtte det svært mange ekstra mennesker opp på Petersplassen til pave Benedikts angelusbønn – ca 150 000 sies det. På bloggen ‘justb16’ kan vi lese mer om dette:

A crowd of 150,000 filled St Peter’s Square on Sunday to support Pope Benedict XVI in the midst of the clerical sex abuse scandal. The Pope said that he appreciated this «beautiful and spontaneous show of faith and solidarity» and again denounced what he called the «sin» that has infected the church and needs to be purified, a theme in his addresses which has become stronger in recent weeks.

Despite grey skies and drizzle, the crowd, mostly Italians, were enthusiastic as they gathered for the Pope’s Sunday Angelus. Banners in Bernini’s colonnade read «Together with the pope,» and «Don’t be afraid, Jesus won out over evil.»

According to Associated Press, the crowd interrupted Benedict frequently with applause and shouts of «Benedetto!» and the pontiff himself strayed from his prepared remarks to thank them again and again.

Mer fra Fatima – video og pavens preken

Katolsk, Paven /

Dearly beloved brothers and sisters, I too have come as a pilgrim to Fatima, to this “home” from which Mary chose to speak to us in modern times. I have come to Fatima to rejoice in Mary’s presence and maternal protection. I have come to Fatima, because today the pilgrim Church, willed by her Son as the instrument of evangelization and the sacrament of salvation, converges upon this place. I have come to Fatima to pray, in union with Mary and so many pilgrims, for our human family, afflicted as it is by various ills and sufferings. Finally, I have come to Fatima with the same sentiments as those of Blessed Francisco and Jacinta, and the Servant of God Lúcia, in order to entrust to Our Lady the intimate confession that “I love” Jesus, that the Church and priests “love” him and desire to keep their gaze fixed upon him as this Year for Priests comes to its end, and in order to entrust to Mary’s maternal protection priests, consecrated men and women, missionaries and all those who by their good works make the House of God a place of welcome and charitable outreach. …»

Hele pave Benedikts preken kan leses her.

Pave Benedikt om problemer som kommer innenfra Kirken selv

Generelt, Katolsk, Paven /

På vei til Portugal i går møtte pave benedikt pressen, og svarte på noen spørsmål; om Portugal som katolsk land, om sekularisering, om betydningen av åpenbaringene i Fatima, og også om overgepene innen Kirken. Vårt Land skriver slik om dette møtet med pressen:

Den romersk-katolske kirken har et stort behov for å «lære seg tilgivelse og forstå nødvendigheten av rettferdighet», sa den katolske kirkens 83 år gamle overhode da han tirsdag ankom Lisboa for et fire dager langt besøk i Portugal. «Kirkens tilgivelse kan ikke erstatte ofrenes behov for rettferdighet når det gjelder seksuelt misbruk av mindreårige, framholdt paven», før han fortsatte: «Den største trusselen mot kirken kommer fra synd innenfra, ikke fra fiender utenfra.»

John Allen skriver om alt paven sa ved denne anledning, bl.a. dette:

… In terms of what we today can discover in this message, attacks against the pope or the church don’t come just from outside the church. The suffering of the church also comes from within the church, because sin exists in the church. This too has always been known, but today we see it in a really terrifying way. The greatest persecution of the church doesn’t come from enemies on the outside, but is born in sin within the church. The church thus has a deep need to re-learn penance, to accept purification, to learn on one hand forgiveness but also the necessity of justice. Forgiveness does not exclude justice. We have to re-learn the essentials: conversion, prayer, penance, and the theological virtues. That’s how we respond, and we can be realistic in expecting that evil will always launch attacks from within and from outside, but the forces of good are also always present, and finally the Lord is stronger than evil. The Madonna for us is the visible maternal guarantee that the will of God is always the last word in history. …

Pave Benedikt om prestens helliggjørende tjeneste

Katolsk, Paven, Teologi /

Under gårsdagens audiens på Petersplassen, snakket pave Benedikt om prestens helliggjørende tjeneste, gjennom sakramantene, og sa bl.a.:

Today, in this catechesis, I would like to return to the specific tasks of priests, which, according to tradition, are essentially three: to teach, to sanctify, to govern. … …

Today I would like to reflect briefly with you on the second task the priest has, that of sanctifying men, above all through the sacraments and the worship of the Church. Here first of all we must ask ourselves: what does the word «saint» mean? The answer is: «Saint» is the specific quality of God’s being, that is, absolute truth, goodness, love, beauty … … Without a minimum contact with God, man cannot live. Truth, goodness, love are fundamental conditions of his being. The question is: How can man find this contact with God, which is fundamental, without dying, overwhelmed by the grandeur of the divine being? The faith of the Church tells us that God himself creates this contact, which transforms us little by little into true images of God.

Thus we return again to the task of the priest to «sanctify.» No man on his own, by his own strength, can put another in contact with God. An essential part of the grace of priesthood is the gift, the task to create this contact. This is done in the proclamation of the Word of God, in which He comes to meet us. It is done in a particularly profound way in the sacraments. Immersion in the Paschal Mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ happens in baptism, is reinforced in confirmation and in reconciliation, is nourished in the Eucharist, the sacrament that builds the Church as People of God, Body of Christ, Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Hence, it is Christ himself who makes us saints, namely, who attracts us to the sphere of God. …

Pave Benedikt om prestens helliggjørende tjenesteLes mer »

Paven døpte kjent tidligere muslim i midnattsmessen

Katolsk, Paven /

I påskevigilien/ midnattsmessen i Peterskirken døpte pave Benedikt Magdi Allam, en av de mest kjente (tidligere) muslimene i Italia, som etter Oriana Fallacis død er blitt den mest framstående kritikeren av muslimsk radikalisme/ fundamentalisme.

Magdi Allam, a columnist and vice-director of Corriere della Sera, Italy’s leading daily newspaper, is among seven new Catholics from five countries to be personally baptized by the pope during the Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Particularly in the wake of recent charges by terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden that Benedict XVI is leading a “new crusade” against Islam, the reception of such a high-profile Muslim convert during the holiest period of the Christian year could further inflame Catholic/Muslim tensions.

A spokesperson for Italy’s Muslim community, Yahya Pallavicini, said that he «respects the free choice» made by Allam, but voiced «perplexity» about the timing and the decision to receive Allam in a place «of such great symbolic importance.»

On the other hand, the choice to baptize Allam during the Easter vigil could also be read as a sign of determination from Benedict, that he will not be intimidated by implied threats such as those voiced in bin Laden’s recent audiotape.

PAVE BENEDIKTS FASTEBUDSKAP FOR 2008

Katolsk, Paven /

“Kristus ble fattig for deres skyld” (2. Kor 8,9)

Kjære brødre og søstre!

1. Hvert år tilbyr fastetiden oss som en forsynets gave muligheten for å utdype betydningen og verdien av vårt kristne liv, og den stimulerer oss til å gjenoppdage Guds barmhjertighet, slik at vi til gjengjeld kan bli mere barmhjertige mot våre brødre og søstre. I fastetiden gjør Kirken det til sin plikt å foreslå noen spesifikke oppgaver, som konkret ledsager de troende i denne prosess av indre fornyelse: Disse oppgaver er bønn, faste og almisse. I dette års fastebudskap vil jeg gjerne bruke litt tid på å reflektere over det å gi almisse, som utgjør en spesifikk måte å hjelpe dem som er i nød, og samtidig en øvelse i selvfornektelse for å befri oss fra avhengigheten av jordiske goder. Tiltrekningskraften ved materielle rikdommer og hvor kategorisk vår beslutning nettopp skal være for ikke å gjøre dem til en avgud, bekrefter Jesus på en resolutt måte: «Dere kan ikke tjene både Gud og mammon» (Luk 16,13). …

PAVE BENEDIKTS FASTEBUDSKAP FOR 2008Les mer »

Mer fra paveaudiensen 26. november 1969

Liturgi, Paven /

Jeg leser nå ei bok som presenterer tradisjonalistiske katolikkers argumenter imot det de kaller ny-katolikkene (=alle som bruker den nye liturgien). Boka heter «The Great Facade. Vatican II and the Regime of Novelty in the Roman Catholic Church», og jeg syns bare den delvis har ovebevisende argumenter. Den siterer bl.a. en del ting kardinal Ratzinger sa fra 70-tallet og utover (om hvordan enkelte ting fra Vatikankonsilet har blir videreført på en dårlig måte eller blitt misforstått), men jeg syns ikke forfatterne klarer å være så overbevisende når de går langt forbi Ratzinger i sin kritikk.

Men boka har vist til Pave Paul VI’s onsdagsaudiens rett før innføringa av den nye liturgien – der paven tydelig sier at dette er noe helt nytt (altså ikke en naturlig revisjon/ videreføring), og noe som nok kommer til å opprøre mange, både lekfolk og prester. Hvorfor gjør man så dette? For å oppfylle bestemmelsene fra Vatikankonsilet (men de ba vel ikke om en så dramatisk forandring?), og for å hjelpe lekfolket til å delta mye mer aktivt i messefeiringa. (Men han sier lite om hvorfor det var nødvendig eller klokt å ta ta borte så mye av høytideligheten og helligheten i messefeiringa – syns jeg.)

Her er en hel del av pave Paul VI’s argumentasjon:

1. We ask you to turn your minds once more to the liturgical innovation of the new rite of the Mass. This new rite will be introduced into our celebration of the holy Sacrifice starting from Sunday next which is the first of Advent, November 30 [in Italy].

2. A new rite of the Mass: a change in a venerable tradition that has gone on for centuries. This is something that affects our hereditary religious patrimony, which seemed to enjoy the privilege of being untouchable and settled. It seemed to bring the prayer of our forefathers and our saints to our lips and to give us the comfort of feeling faithful to our spiritual past, which we kept alive to pass it on to the generations ahead.

3. It is at such a moment as this that we get a better understanding of the value of historical tradition and the communion of the saints. This change will affect the ceremonies of the Mass. We shall become aware, perhaps with some feeling of annoyance, that the ceremonies at the altar are no longer being carried out with the same words and gestures to which we were accustomed – perhaps so much accustomed that we no longer took any notice of them. This change also touches the faithful. It is intended to interest each one of those present, to draw them out of their customary personal devotions or their usual torpor.

4. We must prepare for this many-sided inconvenience. It is the kind of upset caused by every novelty that breaks in on our habits. We shall notice that pious persons are disturbed most, because they have their own respectable way of hearing Mass, and they will feel shaken out of their usual thoughts and obliged to follow those of others. Even priests may feel some annoyance in this respect.

5. So what is to be done on this special and historical occasion? First of all, we must prepare ourselves. This novelty is no small thing. We should not let ourselves be surprised by the nature, or even the nuisance, of its exterior forms. As intelligent persons and conscientious faithful we should find out as much as we can about this innovation. It will not be hard to do so, because of the many fine efforts being made by the Church and by publishers. As We said on another occasion, we shall do well to take into account the motives for this grave change. The first is obedience to the Council. That obedience now implies obedience to the Bishops, who interpret the Council’s prescription and put them into practice. …

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Pavens preken i julens midnattsmesse

Katolsk, Paven /

Pave Benedikt XVI holdt sin første midnattsmesse som pave – og holdt en ypperlig tale, som han avsluttet med å henvise til nattverden, slik:

Among Christians, the word «peace» has taken on a very particular meaning: It has become a name for the Eucharist. There Christ’s peace is present. In all the places where the Eucharist is celebrated, a great network of peace spreads through the world. The communities gathered around the Eucharist make up a kingdom of peace as wide as the world itself. When we celebrate the Eucharist we find ourselves in Bethlehem, in the «house of bread.» Christ gives himself to us and, in doing so, gives us his peace. He gives it to us so that we can carry the light of peace within and give it to others. He gives it to us so that we can become peacemakers and builders of peace in the world. And so we pray: Lord, fulfill your promise! Where there is conflict, give birth to peace! Where there is hatred, make love spring up! Where darkness prevails, let light shine! Make us heralds of your peace! Amen.

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